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Tao nodded, pulling out the maps they had, and everyone moved closer. She allowed Lucas to take over the next steps.
While she knew the plans, she wasn’t sure how they would get everything moving forward. She had no experience with strategy warfare. No one on the island did, as far as she knew. Lucas was better at explaining it.
She stood back as Lucas explained the plan and how they were going to do this. Everyone listened carefully.
While she had said Tao was the alpha of the pack, Lucas was the one in charge. He had come up with most of the plan, and he was the one who was going to execute it.
It made her question her future. What did she want to do, and where did she want to go? Lucas stirred her insides, and the thought of losing him made her sick.
“He’s good at this,” Tao whispered next to her. “He’s pulled everyone’s attention in.”
She swallowed, nodding. “He’s an alpha. An amazing one.”
He was, and the thought of him not being the alpha of their pack made her sad. Tao would make a great alpha, but he wasn’t Lucas.
“We have to enact the plan tomorrow,” Lucas said. “We can’t wait. If we do, he will add more people to his side, and right now, we have the numbers.”
Everyone nodded, and she chewed on her cheek, still nervous.
Lucas called the meeting to a close and wished everyone luck for tomorrow. Feeling numb, she watched everyone leave. Tao waved a hand at her. “You okay?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I’m fine. You should get to your room and rest up for tomorrow. We have a lot to do.”
Tao gave her a hug before slipping out of the restaurant. Lucas stopped next to her. “You’re nervous.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” she asked, turning toward him. Her stomach flipped as he looked down at her holding a concerned expression.
He reached a hand up, cupping her face. “We are going to win this tomorrow. Don’t be concerned.”
Everything was slipping away, but she believed him. Tomorrow would be dangerous, and people would get hurt, but they could win.
NINETEEN
ELIANA
Eliana was overcome with exhaustion, the likes of which she had not experienced since the loss of her father and then Phil. She had become well-acquainted with grief, a peculiar emotion similar to knowing the monster lurking under the bed as a child. Though it was an unwelcome bond, she had no other choice if she wanted to get through it.
She’d found that loss was like having a limb removed that no one else could see. Her mother had used the metaphor when she lost her husband, her best friend, her mate, and her beloved. Although the pack did mourn and express as much condolence as possible, eventually, the flowers stopped coming, and people stopped asking how she was feeling. Eliana and her mother were forced to walk within another universe that their hearts, bodies, and minds had never consented to.
She found herself adjusting to the feeling of loss, letting it be like a scab no longer picked at, eventually forgotten, but occasionally smacked against a wall, hurting, and then recovering much faster than before.
Hearing about Garth and his threat to annihilate the pack with his summoned shifters had awakened the grief. The scab, she found, had been reopened, causing her brain and body to move into defense and recovery mode. It reminded her of the first year after she had lost her father, surviving only for the sake of her holding her mother’s agony.
It drained her energy and tenacious spirit. She was thankful that Lucas had remained as the quiet supporter, a sparkling lantern in the darkness of her woods.
Once the meeting was over, Eliana asked Lucas to return with her to her hut. Bria and Tao would close up shop and send word on when the battle would take place the next day.
Tao gave her a look of approval when she glanced at him before leaving. It helped to ease the guilt.
The sun was setting in the beautiful tropical sky. A dark-blue, velvet shade cast like a blanket over the dipping ball of fire, swallowing the blazing crimson and tangerine streams. Eliana watched it, closing into tranquil darkness.
Lucas walked beside her, eventually touching her wrist when they were out of sight of the restaurant.
“How are you feeling?”
Eliana’s first impulse was to lie. But she couldn’t lie to Lucas. It was pointless and would only cause even more confusion.
She sighed, letting his hand linger on hers.
